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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Migration: A necessary element of the past, present and future in Ireland.

The
need for Immigration

The history of the our country is
pervaded with tales of migration, from the necessary departure from Irish soil
during times of Famine, the Great Depression, recession in the 1980s and of
course the current day consequences of the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.
Between 1871 and 1961, the average annual net emigration from Ireland
consistently exceeded the natural increase in the Irish population, which
shrank from about 4.4 million in 1861 to 2.8 million in 1961.[1]
With the exception of the 1970s, when, for the first time in Irish history, net
migration to Ireland was positive, outflows continued to exceed inflows until
the early 1990s.

However migration is not a faucet of our
society’s history which completely emanates doom, embodying unhappier times.
The 1990s – early 2000s economic boom saw unprecedented levels of prosperity.
Ireland experienced a flow of migrant workers, both EU workers and asylum seekers
from outside the Union. In 1996, Ireland reached its migration "turning
point," making it the last EU Member State to become a country of net
immigration. This was a consequence of rapid economic growth which created an
unprecedented demand for labour across a wide range of sectors, including
construction, financial, information technology, and health care. Unemployment
declined from 15.9% in 1993 to a historic low of 3.6% in 2001.[2]

A recent report ‘Migration and the
Economy’ compiled by the economist Jim Power, for the Integration Centre (a not
- for – profit organisation dedicated to promoting integration) has found that
even after the crash, immigrants are playing a vital role in the Irish economy.
In fact for Ireland to prosper, it is necessary to promote inward immigration.

This is a stark contrast to the commonly
held view that migrants are in fact a burden on the Irish economy.

The report found that
foreign born works work at all levels of the economy, most working in lowly
paid, service and administrative jobs. In some trades they make up one third of
the workforce. The highest number of migrants came from Poland and then from
the UK, both EU countries. The report also states that immigration was vital to
the Irish economy in the boom years when the unemployment rate fell below 4%.
It was commonly agreed that immigration was necessary. However, after the crash
in 2008, there were elements in Ireland who said that immigration was
unaffordable.

The report stipulates that there is
little evidence to support this. It states that immigrants are retraining.
There is no evidence of benefits tourism being a motivation for immigration
into Ireland.

'The non-Irish population is highly skilled
with qualification levels exceeding that of the foreign population in other EU
countries. The overall majority hold professional or trade qualifications. The
variety of language skills they hold is vital to the Irish economy…, in short,
the immigrant population has been and remains a key asset to the Irish economy.'[3]

The report recommends various
measures to encourage immigrants to stay.

·
An
improvement to the employment permit system in order to facilitate the
recruitment of non EU workers.

·
Improved
English training for immigrants.

·
A more
streamlined system for recognising foreign qualifications.

·
Greater
efforts to attract immigrant entrepreneurs.

·
The
enactment of a statutory right to family reunification for victims.

·
Improved
anti-racism measures in the workplace.

·
Greater
commitment from the Gardai to tacking racist incidents

·
Keeping
personal tax levels low to avoid scaring immigrant workers.

It is apparent from recent case law; M.M v minster for Justice Equality and
Reform & Attorney General[4],
Okunade v Minster for Justice, Equality
and Reform & Attorney Genera[5]l, that an urgent reform of our system of asylum
application is required.

Migration has been an obvious element in
attempts to recover in the past, and this is not about to chance. However, in
contrast to popular belief, this report commands that rather than encouraging
our youth and recent graduates to depart from our shores, we should in fact be
more encouraging of people arriving to avail of employment opportunities here.